French word

heure

Pronunciation

IPA/œʁ/

Meaning

  • feminine nounhour

Example

Il est trois heures.

It is three o'clock.

Illustration for heure (hour)

More examples

J'ai attendu pendant deux heures.

I waited for two hours.

Core concept

One position on a clock and the sixty-minute span measured from it are expressed by the same noun.

Common phrases

  • une heure

    an hour

  • toutes les heures

    every hour

Similar words

temps: Time as the ongoing sequence in which events unfold.
minute: A unit of time equal to sixty seconds.
moment: A brief span marking a particular instant.
demi-heure: A half-hour period of thirty minutes.

Definition in French

Moment précis indiqué par l'horloge ou unité de durée égale à une heure.

Word origin

The noun heure developed from Latin hora through Old French, with historical changes in spelling and pronunciation.

Usage tips

  • Heure is feminine, so the singular form is une heure rather than un heure.

Other meanings

  • timenoun

Related words

Word lists with this word